Caught in the Crossfire
by Ghee Buttersnaps15
Summary: After the departure of Nate and Sophie, someone from Nate's past shows up. Hardison finds himself helpless in the middle of a fight that is not his. Rated T for violence and language. Whump and possible H/P ahead!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everybody! It's nice to be back to writing. Most of you probably have no clue who I am, as this is my first Leverage fic, but I haven't been posting stuff since summer:( Glad to be back writing for a new show, especially one that I love so much.  
This story takes place after the season finale. Warning for violence (whump) and language.  
Enjoy!**

****Hardison sat alone in the back room. He was typing at the speed of light, attempting to hack into some records. _Nearly there_, he thought, typing faster.

He paused for a moment, thinking that he had heard a floorboard creak, but then continued, realizing that it was probably just a waiter in the kitchen. He realized something that made him pause his typing. The restaurant wouldn't be opening for a few more hours. Nobody was there but Hardison. He whirled around, eyes widening in surprise as he saw a man standing right behind him.

The man was tall, with tan skin. He had extremely short black hair to match his completely black outfit. There was a jagged scar just underneath his right eye. Ignoring how creepy this guy was, Hardison said, "We're closed right now. Come back in a few hours"

The man stood there, staring at Hardison. He didn't seem like he had even heard a word Hardison had just said.

"We're not open! How did you even get back here," Hardison said, raising his voice.

The man finally spoke in a deep voice, with just a hint of a Mexican accent. "Where is Nate?"

"I don't know," replied Hardison in confusion. "Will you please come back later, I'm trying to work."

"_What's going on, Hardison_?" Eliot's growl came over the comm.

"I know you know where he is. Tell me where Nathan Ford is, or I will be forced to hurt you," said the man.

Hardison still wasn't taking him seriously, though. "Look, I don't know. I really need to get back to work, can you please leave?"

In one fluid motion, the man pulled a shotgun from his jacket and shot Hardison in the shoulder.

Shocked, Hardison stared at his shoulder, where blood already was bubbling out from a hole in his T-shirt.

"_Hardison, tell me that wasn't what I thought that was_." said Eliot.

But Hardison was unable to speak. He just stared at his shoulder.

"Now, I said, where the hell is Nate Ford?"

"I still don't know!" Hardison found his voice. "And if I did, I don't think I would tell you!"

He winced as these words escaped his mouth. He could almost see Eliot and Parker wincing, too. That was an extremely bad move.

The man's mouth turned upward in a small smile. He leaned his head back and laughed. Abruptly, his head snapped back to a normal position. "Come with me, funny boy."

"_Hardison, do not do it! I'm on my way back, stall._" Eliot said.

"Don't worry, Hardison. I know you'll be fine," Parker chirped. If only Hardison didn't know her so well, he might not have known that she didn't believe a word she had just said. He might not have heard the genuine fear hidden in her voice.

"Okay," Hardison replied before addressing the man. "I don't see that I owe you a favor. You just shot me!" He could already feel the adrenaline abandoning him, slowly allowing his mind to feel the pain in his shoulder. Right now it was just a dull ache, but Hardison was sure that it would get a lot worse.

"I do like a challenge," said the man. "Now come with me." When Hardison didn't move, he pointed the gun at Hardison's face. "Unless you rather I have a look at the inside of your head."

Reading his expression, Hardison realized that he was dead serious. This man would kill him without a second thought. "Okay, okay," he slowly rose to his feet, keeping one hand firmly on his wound.

Keeping the gun pointed at Hardison's face, the man said, "Alright, we're going for a drive. Come."

"Hurry up, Eliot," Hardison muttered.

"What's that?" asked the man.

"What?"

"What did you just say?"

"I didn't say anything."

The man eyed Hardison suspiciously, then shoved Hardison toward the door, laughing as he stumbled with the unexpected pressure. "White van. Right outside the door."

Hardison paused outside of the car.

"What?" asked the man.

"Well, I'll get blood on your car. And neither of us want that."

"_Stall, Hardison! I'm almost there_." said Eliot.

"_You'll be just fine_." Parker attempted to reassure to Hardison. "_You have to be_."

"Are you sure it's alright? I mean, I'd hate to ruin your rapist van." Hardison asked cheekily.

"Get in the goddamn car before I make you." the man growled.

"Hey, I'm just considering your property," Hardison said replied, trying to be as light-hearted as possible.

The man pulled the trigger again, this time hitting Hardison a little lower. "Ahh!" Hardison yelled, collapsing backward against the van.

"_Hardison!_" Parker screamed in his ear.

"_In._" said the man dangerously. Hardison slowly moved toward the door, then was shoved in. "Get in the back."

_Shit_, thought Hardison, laying on the floor in the back of the van. _I didn't make it_. He hadn't stalled for long enough, and now he was just another face on a milk carton.

"_Don't worry, Hardison. I will find you and I will murder the man doing this with my bare hands. That son of a bitch will wish he was never born when I'm done with him._"

"So much blood man," said Hardison quietly. "I think he got an artery."

"_We'll find you!_" said Parker. "_It'll work out._"

Hardison blinked hard, trying to stay conscious. The blood loss was making him feel light-headed "I trust you," he managed to murmur, before passing out.

**I hope that wasn't too terrible of a start. Let me know if you liked it (or the opposite) and the next chapter should be up soon-ish.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to everyone for the encouraging words! I'm so glad that you guys enjoy this story. I** **just hope it continues to get better as it goes along and doesn't drop off.**

Hardison woke up to getting slapped in the face repeatedly. "Wake up, funny boy," said a voice near his ear.

Hardison groaned with pain and opened his eyes. _Where the hell am I? _

Glancing down, he saw that his entire shoulder was now caked with blood, and more was still leaking out. He couldn't bend his left hand at all due to the dried blood on it.  
And did it ever hurt. It felt like there were millions of scalding hot knives inside his shoulder, cutting away, burning him.

The man tossed Hardison out of the van's door. "Out, now."

Hardison stumbled, nearly falling over as his feet touched the ground.

He glanced around as he was roughly shepherded into a small house. There seemed to be nothing around except a large lake and Oregon's usual trees. The road they had driven in on was gravel. Hardison still had no clue where they were.

He was shoved into the house, nearly falling over the filthy welcome mat. The man guided him into a small kitchen. He moved the also filthy rug, revealing a small trapdoor. Keeping a gun trained on Hardison, he opened it, revealing a rickety wooden ladder leading down to what Hardison assumed was a basement, although it was too dark to see anything. "Guests first," he leered, gesturing toward the ladder with his gun.

Hardison gingerly lowered his feet onto it, awkwardly climbing down one handed. The mysterious man followed directly above him, sighing impatiently as Hardison made slow process.

He stomped on Hardison's one good hand, causing him to lose his grip and fall down the remaining rungs. He twisted his ankle badly as he landed on the cold, unforgiving cement ground and inhaled sharply in pain.

"_Hardison! What happened now?_" Parker's voice floated over the comm, which luckily remained unnoticed in Hardison's ear.

"Ankle," Hardison whispered back.

"What'd you say?" asked the man loudly.

Deciding he couldn't pass it off like he said nothing this time, Hardison muttered, "I twisted my ankle."

"Oh boohoo. Get over it, that's the least of your worries," the man said with an ominous smile. He lightly kept off the bottom rung, flipping a switch that bathed the basement in light.

The basement was small and windowless, the only light sources being the naked bulb and the open trapdoor that would lead to freedom. The room had cement floor, cement walls and of course a cement ceiling. It was completely empty except for a white plastic lawn chair and an empty bookshelf right across from it.

"Sit." The man gestured toward the chair.

Hardison limped over and collapsed into the chair, breathing hard from the effort. The man walked over and handcuffed each of Hardison's wrists to each chair arm.

"_Get him talking, Hardison. Find out anything you can about him_," Parker said.

"Who are you?" Hardison asked.

The man turned to face him. After a moment in which he must have been pondering whether or not to answer he said, "Lucas. That's all you need to know."

"Alright, well what's your problem with Nate? I mean, seeing how I have been treated, I don't really think you two are best friends."

Lucas frowned at Hardison. "Well, I guess you won't be getting out alive, so there's no harm in telling you. He caught me for insurance fraud. That investigation led to other-ah private matters being discovered. I went to prison," he paused here, his large face growing redder. "I lost everything! My wife left me, taking my baby and all my most prized possessions! I was left $500 for when I got out. That was all I had. No wife, kid, money, friends, possessions, nothing! So I decided that since all I had was the anger that burned within, I would hunt down Nathan Ford and kill him with my bare hands. I've been tracking him. When I arrived in Boston, it was too late, but now I found him. I bet he thought Portland, Oregon was the perfect place to hide. Who in their right mind would want to live here? It's always cold and rainy. And there's hippies and hipsters everywhere! I mean you don't need to keep Portland that weird people!"

Hardison's first thought was that this man was indeed insane, and that scared him a bit. Judging by the little he knew about Lucas, he would indeed kill Hardison without a second thought.

"Why me?" Hardison asked desperately. "I have nothing to do with this, why am I here?"

Lucas gave a small smile. "You will provide..._leverage_. Nate will never let me just kill you. No, no, he will come playing the hero, and that will be his downfall."

"How do you know he will come? How will he know where we are?"

"I wouldn't worry about that." Lucas walked over to the bookcase, and backed away a second later. "You see that?" he gestured toward something sitting on the third shelf. Something with a bright red light. A webcam. "You know what that is, don't you? It is broadcasting back to your headquarters. That's right, they can see and hear everything right now. Would you like to wave to them? Oh, never mind." He smiled at Hardison's look of horror. "Now, we may begin."

He took a step forward, causing Hardison to flinch, and snapped his fingers. A door on the other side of the bookcase that had been previously unnoticed swung open and two people walked out.

Two huge people. They looked like linebackers. Hardison's eyes widened in horror as he stared at their muscles. They glared at him with identical faces.

"Meet my twins. I hired them just for you, how nice of me." Lucas turned back to the webcam. "Hello! I know you can hear me! Come say something so I know you are listening."

"_What_?" Eliot's voice said in Hardison's ear. Hardison frowned as Lucas out a hand to his ear and nodded. How could he hear this?

"Excellent, excellent. Well, as you can see, your precious hacker is with me, alive. He is handcuffed to the chair. It would be ah-unwise to attempt to get him out of here. I'm sure you know what I mean. It would also be unwise to tip off any law enforcement agency about our little situation. Believe me, I will know, and the last you'll se of your precious little hacker is him being shot in the face. In order to get him back, you will need to give up Nathan Ford. You may contact me by speaking near the monitor in which I am showing up on. I believe that is it. Sit back and enjoy."

"N-no! I don't want to enjoy!" Hardison stammered as the twins lumbered toward him.

**Sorry about the cliff hanger. In my original plans, this and the coming chapter were supposed to be combined. Then I got a but carried away...anyway I hope you enjoyed this, and hopefully I will be able to continue cranking out these ridiculously long chapters. Well, long by my standards.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Just as a warning, this chapter will probably be harboring the most violence. **

Hardison's breath quickened in fear as the towering twins approached him. He tried to wriggle out of the handcuffs, but pain, exhaustion and fear made him clumsy. All he managed to do was accidentally kick one of the twins in the shin. _Oh shit._

The kicked twin angrily punched Hardison in the face. Blood dripped down his cheekbone from the hit.

The other twin grabbed Hardison's left pinky. He bent it backward, breaking it as easily as Hardison would a small twig. He continued all along Hardison's left hand, breaking every finger with a look of fascination on his face. He then took Hardison's left hand in between his own and squeezed with all his might.

Hardison struggled not to cry out in pain as he felt the bones in his hand being crushed.

Finally, the twin let go. Hardison barely had time to breathe a sigh of relief before the first twin punched him in the nose. Hardison could feel his nose collapsing under the huge fist. But worst of all, this hit caused the comm to go flying from his ear. Lucas might not have noticed if it hadn't hit him.

"Stop," he said icily, picking up the comm. The hand twin slowly pushed Hardison right pinky backward until it snapped as the first twin lowered his fist. "Well, well, well. Looks like Hardison has been communicating with someone on the outside." He rose the comm to his ear. "Who is there, may I ask?"

Even Hardison could hear the list of expletives that Eliot was yelling at Lucas. Hardison had never heard him that angry; on most jobs he stayed cool as a cucumber while knocking people out.

"My my, we are angry, aren't we? That's a shame." Lucas dropped the comm on the ground and stepped on it, crushing it. When he turned to Hardison, his eyes were burning with rage. "What did you tell them? What did you tell them!"

"I- nothing," Hardison replied desperately.

"Don't you fucking lie to me! I know you said something!" Lucas screamed, spit flying out of his mouth. He took a deep breath, and seemed to calm down a bit. "I'll give you one more chance. What. Did. You. Tell. Them?"

"Nothing, I promise! I didn't say anyth-ahhhh!" Hardison's sentence turned into a wordless yell of agony as Lucas grabbed his right arm-his injured arm- and twisted it violently. Hardison screwed up his face, just waiting for the snap that would accompany a broken arm.

But it didn't come. When Hardison opened his eyes after waiting for a good thirty seconds, he was shocked and somewhat repulsed to see Lucas' face right there.

"That hurts, doesn't it?" Lucas asked, laughing. "Yes, I know the perfect amount of twist to create extreme pain without," he twisted Hardison's arm more, finally earning a crack, "breaking it." He stepped back, eyes burning less now. Wordlessly, he waved his hand at the twins, then ascended the ladder.

"Please! You don't have to do this! He won't know if you don't!" Hardison begged desperately.

They of course did not listen to him. In perfect synchronization, they each grabbed one of Hardison's last unbroken fingers. "No, no! Please don't, anything but that! I won't be able to type," Hardison pleaded.

With identical grins, they bent his fingers back. More pain washed over Hardison as both of his fingers were broken.

Before Hardison had a chance to recover, one of the twins punched him in the face, again. Then the other twin punched the other side of his face. Back and forth they went, until Hardison could feel the blood running down his face. He could taste it in his mouth. Just when he thought that he couldn't take it anymore, and would pass out, he heard Lucas return. "Stop." Both twins immediately backed away.

"What the hell are you doing? If you kill him, the whole plan is compromised! Get over there" He pushed the twins to the other side of the suitcase, then turned and faced Hardison.

"So sorry about that. Apparently, we don't know how to treat guests," Lucas said cordially.  
Hardison eyed him warily. "You haven't been doing too well yourself," he said, spitting blood out of his mouth.

"Oh, what have I done to you, really? My men have hurt you far worse than I have."

"Are you kidding? You shot me! _Twice_!"

"Oh, ah, well, anyway back to my original point. I came back down here to, ah, test something out on you." From his pocket he produced a vial of clear liquid and a long nasty-looking syringe.

"I don't suppose you know what this is, do you? No, didn't think so. This stuff is very, very rare. I purchased it through a colleague of mine."

"What does it do?" Hardison hated being hooked like this, but as he assumed it would be injected into him, he needed to know.

"It is a poison. Attacks the blood cells, wreaking total havoc. This dose," he held up the vial, "would kill you in a matter of minutes , depending on how fast your heart is beating."  
"Yes, that's the funny thing about this. Your body basically betrays you. The natural response to fear is quickened heart rate, which is exactly what kills you faster. As soon as it travels to the brain, it's lights out. Very, very nasty stuff, no?"

In spite of the blood continuing to pool in Hardison's mouth, it suddenly felt quite dry. "Are you just gonna kill me now? After all the work to capture me and ultimately Nate?"

"No, no! You see, the whole dose will kill you. Half a dose is only supposed to cause extreme pain with minimal lasting damage. Well, besides the emotional scarring of course. Are you familiar with Harry Potter?"

Hardison just stared at Lucas, unsure where that seemingly random question had come from.

"What, criminals can't enjoy popular series? Well, in case you are not familiar, this poison has been compared to the turture curse, the Cruciatus Curse. It is said to inflict the most pain imaginable upon the human body. There are actually two characters who went insane due to overexposure."

"But that won't happen withe injection right?" asked Hardison nervously.

"We shall find out shortly," Lucas replied, carefully measuring half of the liquid into the syringe. "Let's see, I believe I will take your left arm."

"There's gotta be some other way to test it! On someone else!" Hardison cried out desperately struggling, trying to free himself.

"Hold him down." The twins walked over and grabbed Hardison's arm, pinning it flat. As hard as Hardison struggled, he could not break free of their grip.

He felt the cold prick of the needle, entering the vein on his wrist, then felt fire. It literally felt like the injection point had caught fire, and with each frantic heartbeat, the fire spread.  
Hardison was screaming. Tears were running down his face, but he hardly noticed. The pain had now enveloped his entire arm. He could feel it creeping closer to his heart. He didn't know what would happen when it reached his heart, but he knew it would be bad.

"Kill me! Please, just kill me now!" he screamed in agony.

"Do not worry. The pain will get worse." Lucas replied with an insane grin. He was _enjoying_ this! He was laughing as he watched.

The pain was creeping closer, closer, ever closer, until finally it reached his heart. It felt like a firework had gone off in his chest. Hardison was screaming so loudly by now that his throat felt raw.

"Scream all you want!" Lucas yelled in apparent joy. "There's nobody around to hear you!"

The pain was moving on now. It still was in his heart, arm and lungs, but it now was spreading all over his body. It was a part of his blood as algae is a part of the river. It was heading up. He could feel it snaking up toward his brain.

_Meanwhile..._

Eliot picked up his cell and dialed the number that had once been as familiar to him as his own. It rang once, twice, then was picked up.

"We need you back." Eliot said. "It's Hardison."

**Aha! I updated on a Friday, not a Saturday like usual! 11:30 is still Friday! I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people that have followed, favorited, and reviewed this story. I honestly anticipated minimal interest in this; there's a ton of Eliot/Parker stories. Nonetheless, I am very pleased with how it is turning out and the reaction I am getting. thank you everyone!**


	4. Chapter 4

"We need you back." Eliot said. "It's Hardison."

"No hello for your old colleague?" Nate asked Eliot drily.

Eliot sighed. "Hello. Now, will you listen to me? We seriously need your help."

"Come on, Eliot, you guys need to work through the problems. Every con won't be easy. There will be many setbacks, you just have to work around them."

"No, listen to me, Nate! Hardison is in serious trouble."

"I'm sure he's fine. Hardison has been known to overreact a bit. You need to learn without Sophie and me holding your hands."

"Nate, Hardison has been kidnapped."

"He never was a very good grifter. Alright, I can help you over the phone. What do you need? A plan?"

"No, we need you for the plan. He wasn't kidnapped as part of a con. It was a guy named Lucas that you apparently put behind bars."

Eliot waited with bated breath for Nate's reply. "Is it bad?" He finally asked.

"Nate, he's gonna kill Hardison before long. Right now it's just torture. Last I checked, Hardison is passed out. He's not going to last much longer. You need to come out here."

"We will be there in four hours." Nate promised, hanging up.

Eliot also hung up and turned to face Parker who was sitting on the edge of the couch. "So?" She asked.

"They'll be on the next flight out," Eliot promised. "They're coming back."

"He should be here. For the reunion." Parker glanced up at the screen, which featured a shot of Hardison passed out in the plastic chair. "It shouldn't be like this."

"I know. It, this sucks. I'm not a fan of killing, but Lucas I would without a second thought. I just feel so helpless. Sitting here, watching, there's nothing I can do. My job is to protect you guys, but instead I have to watch them hurting him for no reason other than him being there. Just something to do." Eliot began pacing the room.

"I just hate the sound. If there were no noise, I could almost ignore it, pretend its not there. But hearing him like that," Parker's voice trailed off as she fiddled absently with a loose string on her jacket. "It's like they're hurting me."

"I know. He's been kidnapped before, but never like this." Eliot took a deep breath. "So, mastermind, how are we gonna play this? How will we get him out?"

Parker looked at Eliot in surprise. "You mean I have to make the plan?"

"Well, we need a plan as soon as possible. Lucas isn't gonna wait forever."

"Okay, give me a minute to think." Parker laid down on the couch with her eyes closed. Eliot continued pacing, looking everywhere except for the huge screen on the wall.

Eventually, he sat down at a bar stool. Parker had been lying motionless for so long that he half wondered if she had fallen asleep, but he knew better than to mess with her thinking. He sighed, drumming his fingers on the countertop.

"I got it!" Parker suddenly sat up. "I know how we'll get Hardison back. How long until Nate and Sophie get in?"

Eliot checked his watch. "They should be landing pretty soon. Should we go meet them?"

"No. I don't want to miss anything happening to Hardison. Nate and Sophie know how to get here."

Disappointed, Eliot sank back down. Although what Parker said was true, he wanted to be moving. He needed to be doing something productive. It almost felt like betraying Hardison to just sit by doing nothing. He and Parker sat in silence until they heard a soft knock at the door.

Eliot leapt up, crossed the room and opened the door. There were Nate and Sophie, standing there like they hasn't even left them team. For a minute, it almost felt like old times.

Sophie immediately hugged Eliot and Parker, proclaiming how she had missed them. Nate had a very tense look on his face as he looked around at their old headquarters.

"Alright, what happened?" Nate asked, taking a seat. Sophie sank down next to him.

Eliot relayed the story of how Hardison had been kidnapped and what had happened to him so far. "Who the hell is this Lucas guy?" He finished.

Nate sighed. "Back when I worked for IYS, I caught him for insurance fraud. During the investigation, I also busted his drug business. He went to jail for a few years."

"We already know that. Why is he targeting you?" Eliot asked.

"He's mentally unstable. A sociopath with anger problems. It doesn't help that he is also extremely intelligent. He's held a grudge against me ever since I put him away, but I didn't think he would ever kidnap one of you. I should have known he'd find us. This is my fault."

"We have a plan to get Hardison back." Parker piped up. "We'll need you, but I think we can pull this off."

"He won't give Hardison up."

"But it's you he wants, not Hardison," Eliot pointed out.

"I know, but he'll kill Hardison as soon as he is no longer needed, just to hurt me."

"Nate," Sophie placed a reassuring hand on his arm. "We can do this. This is Hardison we're talking about, we have to do this."

"I know we can. We're going to have to trick Lucas into giving up Hardison before he can kill him and before he can get to me." Nate said.

Parker smiled. "I have the perfect plan."

_Meanwhile..._

Hardison was awake, but he didn't move. Every inch of him was sore. It felt like he had been run over by a bus which then proceeded to drive back and forth over him. He figured if he didn't move, it would hurt less and maybe Lucas wouldn't notice him.

He could feel that something was pressed against his injured shoulder. He was grateful that the bleeding had been stopped, but the rag or whatever it was was incredibly itchy. Hardison twitched a bit, trying to ease the itching sensation.

Steps were coming down the ladder. Hardison recognized Lucas' footsteps. He almost groaned in pain thinking of what would come next. _Almost_.

"He's still out?" Lucas asked the twins. "It must have been more powerful than advertised. Awaken him any way possible. Soon, we will have Nathan Ford."

**Yea, I was less than pleased with this chapter. Stupid writers block. But, hopefully, somewhere will like this. That's why I'm posting. **

**Thanks for all the love I have been receiving via reviews, alerts and favorites! Each one of** **them makes my day.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Once again, thank you to everyone who has been following this story. It makes my day whenever I see a new review, follower or favoriter. Enjoy the chapter!**

**Warning: more violence **

One of the twins kicked Hardison right in the chest. His breath caught in his throat as his chair began tipping backwards. It slowly rocked back to a normal position, but as soon as it reset on all four legs, he was kicked again. This time, the chair fell all the way to the ground, which Hardison cracked his head on. Suddenly dizzy, Hardison blinked hard, trying to take a deep breath.

Lucas sighed coldly "Get him up. We need to leave, immediately. Nathan Ford shall soon be mine as well."

Hardison wheezily chuckled. "There ain't no way I'm gettin back up that ladder."

Lucas ignored him as the twins hauled him up. Unsteady, Hardison would have fallen over if not for their vice like grips on him. They half carried, half dragged Hardison over to the door by the bookcase, swinging it open.

Lucas paused as he whisked by them. "You didn't really think I only had one exit, did you? What kind of evil genius do you take me for?" He chuckled and walked out.

Despair engulfed Hardison as he was dragged out of the dark basement and into the driveway.

_Meanwhile..._

Nate, Parker and Sophie were standing in the park they had dictated for Lucas to bring Hardison to. It was nearly eleven o'clock at night, and the city was quiet. No one else seemed to be about.

"Are you sure he'll show?" Parker asked nervously, huddling into her jacket more. Now that they were out here, she could see many flaws in her plan.

"Oh, yes. He'll be here." Nate spoke confidently, scanning their surroundings.

"Nate, I don't think this is going to work. There's too much that could go wrong." Parker insisted.

"Parker, you need to trust yourself. It's a solid plan. Besides, we don't have extra time. Lucas won't hold onto Hardison forever."

"I know, but-"

"Parker, we're going to be fine. And we're right by the hospital in case anything does go wrong." Sophie attempted to reassure Parker.

"I just have a bad feeling about this. I mean, even if everything goes perfectly, Hardison's life is still in danger. What if-" Parker was cut off yet again, but by Nate this time.

"They're here." He pointed across the street to where a white unmarked van was slowly driving by. It parked and the door slid open. Someone from the passenger seat was shoved out onto the ground. Even at this distance Parker could tell it was Hardison. She clenched her jaw, reminded of why they were here.

Lucas stopped about twenty yards from the trio, right next to a large bush. He stood behind and slightly to the right of Hardison, holding him tight. A blade gleamed in the low light against Hardison's neck.

Hardison looked terrible. Even watching him being tortured hadn't prepared Parker to see him like this. Nearly the entire right side of his shirt was stained with dark blood. His arm was held at an unnatural angle, and his weight all rested on one foot.

"So sorry I'm late, I had business to take care of." Lucas spoke politely. "I see you brought backup. That wasn't a part of the deal."

"Don't worry, Lucas. They are here to take care of Hardison once he is released. They won't try anything."

Lucas snorted. "Well, just be aware that any funny business will result in the death of your friend here." His hand twitched on Hardison's neck. "A very messy, painful death."

"Him for me. Simple as that, I promise." Nate said, taking a step forward.

"Good, good. Oh, by the way, Ford," Lucas' hand moved faster than anyone had thought possible. One second, the blade was at Hardison's neck, the next it was sinking into his abdomen. Hardison faintly cried out, falling to the ground. "I don't think you'll be getting your friend back."

Parker sprinted toward Hardison, ripping off her jacket. She was barely aware of Eliot leaping out of the bush at Lucas, or of Nate and Sophie at her heels. _I've failed. I knew_ _this plan would never work!_

"Hardison, Hardison!" She cried out, pressing her jacket to the new wound. "Hardison, stay with me!"

Hardison's eyes fluttered open at her voice. "P-p-parker," he choked out.

"I'm here. We're all here." Parker suddenly was aware of how violently he was shaking, and how labored his breath sounded. A single tear escaped her. She couldn't lose him, not now that they were so close.

Nate squatted down on the other side of Hardison with Sophie hovering in the background. "The ambulance is on the way. You're going to be just fine."

Hardison jerkily nodded and closed his eyes. "Oh, no, we're staying awake buddy." Nate said, patting his arm.

"Can't." Hardison managed to wheeze out. "Can't...breathe."

Parker could already hear the sirens in the distance. It felt strange to be willing them to speed up, instead of fleeing at the sound. "Hardison, just hang on! I need you." A tear dripped down her cheek, but she wiped it away impatiently. "You're more than just a teammate, more than a friend. I think I...love you."

Hardison's hand briefly squeezed Parker's and a smile lit up his face. "I.."

Parker found that she didn't need to hear him say it back. "I know. Don't waste your breath. I know."

Despite Hardison's grip on her hand and his smile, Parker could tell that he was slipping away, and she couldn't do anything about it. "Sorry...love." He murmured, and his head fell back to the ground. Each breath sounded more and more labored, and the blood continued to spill from his battered body.

"Over here!" Parker heard Sophie call from a distance. She hadn't even noticed Sophie moving away to flag down the paramedics.

Parker took a deep breath, tears blurring her vision as she looked down at Hardison. She already knew something Sophie didn't. She knew that it was too late for paramedics.

Alec Hardison was dead.


	6. Chapter 6

**Yep, next chapter is finally up. I decided not to torture you guys anymore. And by that, I mean that I just finished it. Same thing. **

**Warning: much angst ahead. They be angsting all over the place. **

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. The EMTs began CPR as they loaded Hardison onto a stretcher and ran him to the ambulance. Tears flowed freely down Parker's face as she stood and backed away from where Hardison had just been laying.

Eliot was standing over the unmoving body of Lucas, his back to Parker. It looked like he was watching the ambulance scream out, but he may have just been watching the cops pull in.

Behind Parker, Nate was staring off into the distance, a mixture of shock and grief on his face. Parker was fairly certain what he was reliving.

"We need to get to the hospital." Sophie's voice sounded thick, and her eyes were clearly shining with images tears, but she was still under control.

Parker felt like a zombie as she walked over to Sophie, Eliot trailing behind her.

"Nate. We need to go." Nate slightly jumped and walked past the three to the driver's seat.

"Are you sure you're okay to drive?" Sophie asked.

"We're right by the hospital. I'm fine." Nate replied stubbornly.

Parker didn't really cared who drove, she wanted to get to the hospital as quickly as possible.

_A little while later..._

Waiting was hard. Waiting was remembering in vivid detail. Waiting was second guessing every move she had made. But most of all, waiting was pain, deep, terrible pain. Parker hated waiting.

Parker tried to distract herself by wondering what Nate was doing at this very moment. Almost as soon as they had arrived, and checked with the receptionist, who of course had no information, he had left for a walk. He claimed he needed fresh air. Sophie had murmured something about him not dealing with this, but he still just sighed and headed out, pocketing his comm and sternly telling them to call him the second there was news.

There was no news. Nearly an hour later, nothing. An hour of sitting in the plastic chair in the waiting room. An hour of avoiding eye contact with Eliot and Sophie, seated across from her. An hour of worry and intense regret.

She hadn't said everything she wanted to when she had the chance. What if this really was the last time she would ever speak to the hacker? What if their short relationship had started sooner? Parker regretted not saying anything earlier.

Another half hour passed in silence. An hour and half they had been sitting there. Parker didn't know if no news was good or bad. She looked up at Sophie and Eliot, just to have something to do. Sophie was staring at the ground. Her mascara now covered her cheeks. Eliot was watching the receptionist like a hawk. Parker couldn't read his expression.

She couldn't even imagine what her face looked like now. Kind of like how she couldn't imagine the team without Hardison there. They couldn't go on without him, he just had to be okay.

"Family of Alec Hardison?" The receptionist called out.

Parker leapt to her feet, unsure of what to expect. Dread filled her as she walked with the other two up to the counter. This was it. She was moments away from finding out if her life would be changed forever.

"And who are you?" The receptionist asked. "I just need to make sure you're on his list, for privacy reasons."

"Sophie Deveraux." Sophie was the first to speak.

"Eliot Spencer." Eliot's voice sounded more gruff than usual.

"Parker."

The receptionist stared at them over her horn-rimmed glasses for a moment, then nodded and began, "Alec Hardison has just been brought into a private room after a successful operation. He will remain sedated for at least six more hours, but doctors are optimistic about a full recovery. If you would like to visit him now, Nurse Maria will take you up and debrief you on the extent of his injuries."

Parker released a breath she hasn't realized she had been holding. He was okay, he was going to be fine.

"He's alright?" Sophie asked.

"Well, he is listed as critical, yet stable, so it's your call how okay that is."

"Oh my god." Sophie started crying a bit again, this time tears of joy. "He's alive. I need to go call Nate."

"I can take you two up now, and come back for her if you like," Nurse Maria suggested.

Parker and Eliot shared a quick glance before they turned to the young nurse. "That will be just fine." Eliot said.

"Right this way, then." Nurse Maria headed toward the elevators. "His room is on the next level."

"His injuries were as follows: fractured skull, concussion, fractured right arm, ten fractured fingers, a few fractures in both wrists and hands, three cracked ribs, a punctured lung and sprained ankle. Well, also the gunshot wounds and the stabbing wound."

The door to the elevator slid open, and Maria stepped out. Parker and Eliot exchanged another glance, this time one of shock before following her out. They had known he was badly hurt, but Parker had certainly never imagined it to be this bad.

"Surgery removed one bullet that had not gone through, put a tube in his lung, patched up his ribs, and we gave him a blood transfusion. He had lost a lot of blood," she concluded with a frown on her face.

"This is his room," she announced pausing outside of a closed door. "Do you have any questions before you see him?"

"How long was he dead for?" Parker just had to know.

"He wasn't actually dead, although he was nearly there. Another minute and he would have been. You probably thought he was because his breathing nearly stopped, that was the punctured lung, and his heart likely slowed down."

"But, they did CPR."

"To get him back to a normal heart rate, I expect. Any more questions?"

"Yea, he works in, uh, computers. Lots of typing and stuff. Will he still be able to do that?" Eliot asked.

"His fingers were cleanly broken, so they should heal just fine. He may have a smaller range of motion, but with proper therapy, he may be as good as new."

Maria glanced at each of them. "If that's all, I'll go and get your friends. Oh, and I don't know if anyone has told you, but he won't be waking up until sometime tomorrow." She them turned and headed back to the elevator.

Parker and Eliot opened the door and walked into Hardison's room.

He looked like, well, someone who had been kidnapped and tortured. Small bandages were all around his face from being punched. He had a finger brace on each finger, and a cast and sling on his right arm. Who knows why they thought the sling would be necessary for an unconscious man. He had a wrap around his head, presumably for the fracture. Parker assumed there were more wraps under his hospital gown.

Despite how awful he looked, Parker was thrilled to see him alive. Despite how guilty she felt about ruining everything, or maybe because of her guilt, all she wanted to do was hug him. Kiss him. Talk to him. She wanted to tell him that everything would be okay.

**Well, he's not dead. You're welcome. I hope that this isn't too unrealistic, and that I got at least some medical terminology and processes correct. **

**I love my reviewers. In a non creepy way. Well, maybe a little creepy;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**This is it. The final chapter. I'm sad to see this one go; it was a lot of fun to write. This chapter especially was fun:)**

Alec Hardison waking up for the first time after his brush with death was supposed to look a lot different than it ended up. For example, the rest of his team was supposed to be there. That's what he gets for waking up early, before visiting hours. That's not to say that he was alone, he wasn't. And it certainly was dramatic, even if not in the way anyone had expected.

Hardison's eyelids were heavy. Well, everything felt pretty heavy at the moment. Something must have been wrong with Earth's gravitational pull. Hardison felt the need to snicker aloud at that clever thought. Maybe even a good chuckle or possibly a nice guffaw.

He suddenly was aware that he had been awake, but with his eyes closed for a while now. It had actually only been a couple minutes, but it felt like a long time. Upon finally getting his eyes to open, he saw two things. One, he was in a hospital, although he wasn't quite sure why. And two, there was some random dude in his room, facing away.

Hardison stared at that dude. He squinted, then widened his eyes as much as he could. He didn't recognize him. So, he did the only logical thing a highly drugged patient who is unsure why he was in the hospital could do upon seeing a stranger in his room.

"Hello." He waved, and was momentarily distracted by the bright cast on his arm. "Whoah!"

The man turned quickly. Had Hardison been less out of it, he may have noticed the man jumping like a child being caught breaking a rule. After sizing him up for a minute, the man replied, "Hello."

He had a touch of an accent that sounded vaguely familiar, but Hardison couldn't quite place it. He glanced out the window (when did that get there?) and noticed a bird flying by. He smiled as he saw it. Birds were cool. They could fly, like, well, flying things.

"Hey!" The random man returned Hardison's attention to himself.

"Hmm?"

The man sighed frustratedly. No, peevishly. Wait is that word? Maybe angrily. Hardison remembered to listen just in time to hear the end of the sentence. "-Ford is?"

"I like your leather jacket," Hardison said, smiling. "D'ya think it would fit me? Nah, I wouldn't look good in that. Well maybe, if I had leather pants and shoes and shirt and skin and-"

"Hey!" The man snapped his fingers in front of Hardison's face. "Are you even listening?"

"Not really," Hardison replied honestly.

"Listen this time!"

Hardison nodded meekly.

"Can you tell me where Nathan Ford is?"

"_Can you tell me where Nathan Ford _is?" Hardison repeated in a very inaccurate imitation. He thought it to be very accurate, though, and began cracking up at himself. Until a pain in his chest stopped him. "Ouch." He looked down, frowning.

"I'm not playing games, tell me where he is!"

"_Tell me where he is good chap!_" Hardison repeated in a British accent.

"I have a gun! You do see that right?"

Hardison wasn't paying attention any more, though. He was staring at his left arm. "Oh no I'm bleeding! Oh my god, call the nurse, so much blood!" He flopped his arm around for emphasis.

"You're not even-" the man was interrupted by a loud bang on the door. "The hell," he murmured quietly.

"I'll tell you what the hell is going on! It's an earthquake! The building's gonna collapse! No, all of Portland will collapse into a giant pit formed by the earthquake! Oh god, I can see it now..." Hardison trailed off.

"It's not an earthquake." The man moved closer to the door, attempting to peer out the window when the door flew open, knocking him into a wall. He slid down it, unconscious.

"No don't throw me into a wall, I'll behave, I promise!" Hardison cried out as four people entered the room.

"Dammit, Hardison, do you have to make so much noise?" Eliot asked.

"I'm not making noise. Oh, call a nurse! I'm bleeding, see my arm?" He extended his left arm to them.

"Hardison, you're not bleeding," Sophie replied gently.

"Huh?" Hardison inspected his arm. "Oh hey, you're right!"

"So, how ya feeling, Hardison?" Nate asked warily.

"I'm fan-friggin-tastic, Nateio." Hardison watched Eliot drag the man out of his room. "Where are they going? I wanna go!"

"Why is he crazy?" Hardison hear Parker whisper to Sophie.

"Hey, mama! I ain't crazy! You're crazy! Where's my milk?"

"You didn't ask for milk," Parker pointed out.

"Damn right, I didn't! I want soda! Where are the tacos in this place? Is that where Eliot went? Do you think he'll bring me one? Oh, I hope so."

"Hardison, has the doctor been in to check on you?" Sophie asked.

Hardison stared at her for a minute. "What doctor?" He finally said.

"Alright, Nate and I will go flag one down," Sophie decided.

"But, there's a button right there to press," Nate protested.

"Nate. Now." Sophie glanced at Parker, sitting on the side of Hardison's bed. She was smiling as Hardison played with her fingers.

"Oh, yeah. Lets go find a doctor." Nate awkwardly followed Sophie out.

"Parker?" Hardison asked.

"Yea?"

"What happened to me? I can't think straight."

Parker took a deep breath. "It's a long story. All you need to know is that the guy who did this is in custody. He's gonna be in jail for a long, long time. Don't worry about it too much, I'll tell you the whole story later if you still can't remember."

"Parker?"

"Hmm?"

"'M tired. Don't leave, kay?" Hardison's eyelids were already drooping shut.

Parker smiled and stroked his arm. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

**Thank you to everyone for all of the support you gave me. I appreciate you all more than you could ever know. I hope to see you all soon with a new Leverage story!**


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